Standard-Freeholder year in review: September 2018

Jack Quinn of the Ottawa 67s (second from right) digs for the puck held against the boards by Kingston Frontenac Paul Larabie during an exhibition game on Monday September 3, 2018 in Cornwall, Ont. Ottawa won 3-2.
Robert Lefebvre/Special to the Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia NetworkRobert Lefebvre / Robert Lefebvre/Special to the Standard-Freeholder

September of 2018 began with a burst of sports nostalgia as the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) returned to the Cornwall Civic Complex’s Ed Lumley Arena.

The match was an exhibition game between the Ottawa 67s and the Kingston Frontenacs that ended in a 3-2 shootout win for Ottawa. Cornwall Tourism managed to convince the OHL teams to play in Cornwall and it certainly reignited old passions.

Some of the fans who came to watch would have been old enough to remember watching the Royals play, but many others would not yet have been born for a decade or two after the team left in 1992.

“The game has been awesome, it’s great to see the OHL back in Cornwall,” said Robert McDonald, who had brought his young grandson Grayson to the game. “I used to be a big Royals fan when I was a kid and I miss those games … I would really like to see the OHL come back.”

A political drama was unfolding in Akwesasne in early September over whether a member of the Mohawk council would be able to keep the seat he had just been re-elected to in July.

A petition to oust Chief Denis Chaussi was presented to the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne at the very end of August, the consequences of which would unfold over the course of September.

Under the First Nation’s election law, Chaussi could be removed from office with only 132 signatures, which the petition met easily and the district chief was booted from the Mohawk council.

Chaussi recused himself from the council while the signatures were being counted and verified, but knew he would be ousted. In an interview with the Standard-Freeholder and the Indian Time, Chaussi suggested the petition was part of a larger campaign against him.

The petition was launched by Kenny Mitchell, a man that the Akwesasne community court determined that Chaussi had defamed in emails to a fellow district chief following a collision in 2017 when Mitchell struck a man with a snow plow.

While the controversy over the Notwithstanding Clause was raging in Queen’s Park, representatives from communities across the region were meeting at the Nav Centre for the Ontario East Municipal Conference.

The three-day conference was a chance for local political leaders and municipal staff members to get together with their counterparts and talk shop. It was an opportunity many delegates appeared to relish, perhaps even more than going to larger municipal conferences.

September also marks the beginning of the school year, and with it also began the life of the new Sacred Heart Catholic School. The former General Vanier School building was renovated over the course of one summer to turn it into a new Catholic elementary school and was met with a glowing reception from students, staff and parents.

Much of the old structure that was once General Vanier has been left in place, but much has been changed as well. The outside facade has been updated, there is a new science lab that is almost ready to be opened, and there is also an art and drama room complete with a miniature stage inside for practices.

On a sadder note, one of Cornwall’s youngest and most active cancer research campaigners died during her seventh relapse of the disease on Sept. 19. Alaya Riley was just 17 years old when she died cradled in her father’s arms. She had a genetic condition called Li-Fraumeni Syndrome which made her extremely prone to developing cancerous tumours.

Despite this, she accomplished much in her short life in the realms of sports, academics, and even business, as well as becoming one of Cornwall’s most dedicated and active campaigners for cancer charities. She had been one of the main speakers during the Relay For Life held several months before her death.